Far-Left Switch Off Campaign Sparks 50+ Attacks on German Infrastructure
Berlin (dpa/bb) – Since the year 2000, Berlin has seen at least 22 arson attacks allegedly carried out by far-left extremists targeting critical infrastructure such as power lines, according to a list compiled by police and the Senate Interior Administration in response to a parliamentary inquiry by the AfD.
The attacks primarily targeted power cables, transformer stations, cable shafts, and radio masts. The list does not include exact dates or locations, with the most recent incident being the arson attack on high-voltage cables in southwestern Berlin in early January, which caused a major, days-long power outage.
During the same period, additional attacks occurred in Brandenburg, linked to potential perpetrators or targets from Berlin. From a security policy perspective, authorities consider Berlin and Brandenburg a "shared threat zone," meaning that "actions in one state can have repercussions and potentially direct consequences for the other."
The Senate Interior Administration reported that over 50 offenses—ranging from paint attacks to severe arson—have now been attributed to the far-left extremist campaign Switch Off, with connections to Berlin. The group justifies its actions with themes such as environmentalism, technology, fascism, and Israel, aiming to appeal to as many issues and activists as possible.
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